NEW TALKING PLANS

May, June & September 2012 Talks

7/5 "Shropshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Bayston Hill Reading Group

8/5 "Shropshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Shrewsbury Column TG

6/6 "Warwickshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Studley WI

12/6 "Worcestershire Cakes & Ale Trail"- Bromsgrove WI

14/6 "Warwickshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Leamington Probus

18/6 "Shropshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Shawbury WI

19/6 "Hadrian & the Pork Scratchings" - Shifnal TG

26/6 'Warwickshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Sutton Coldfield 50+

10/9 "Hadrian & the Pork Scratchings" - Kinver Rotary

11/9 "Shropshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Wolverhampton Friendship Group

12/9 "Worcestershire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Belbroughton History Soc

17/9 "Murder & Mayhem" - Horsehay TG

19/9 "Warwickshire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Nifty Fifties

27/9 "Worcestershire Cakes & Ale Trail" - Bridgnorth Ladies Lunch Club

Availability

I am currently able to offer the following talks to groups of 10 to 100 people (or more, if necessary). Contact me at bobbibby@btinternet.com or phone 0044-(0)1746-768956 (home) or 0044-(0)7932-904905 (mobile).

Hadrian and the Pork Scratchings

In 122 AD, the mighty Emperor Hadrian set sail from Rome to reach his northernmost kingdom, Britain. Here he decided to build the Wall that forever after has borne his name – a barrier to keep the woad-painted Jocks in Jockland. That Wall has been the source of investigation and enquiry ever since.

How was it built? Who built it? How was it guarded? Who by? And what was this mighty Emperor Hadrian like? Find out as I take you on a magical journey in the footsteps of Hadrian to visit the forts on the Wall, to see what history has made of it, and to discover the truth about Hadrian.

Did you know that:
- the Romans invaded Britain in order to discover the secret of pork scratchings?
- the reason Hadrian built the Wall was to stop the Scots importing woad into England illegally?
- the Romans built straight roads to stop their soldiers going round the bend?

“Another wonderful, witty and informative evening.”

Special Offa

The 177-mile walk following the line of Offa’s Dyke between Wales and England was my toughest challenge to date. Why did 8th century King Offa, Lord of the West Midlands, build his famous dyke? How much still stands?

To find out, join me on an extended pub crawl between Chepstow and Prestatyn and meet “Ozzie” Osbern of Chepstow Castle, the original Hound of the Baskervilles in Kington, Kilvert the Pervert, William Spooner (or Spilliam Wooner) of Oswestry, the Daleks of Llangollen, and many, many more.

Discover the truth about the site of Arthur’s last battle, why Near Earth Objects are rather worrying, what the Welshwomen did to the dead bodies after the Battle of Pilleth, what Nelson was up to in Monmouth, and the origins of the V-sign.
Join my journey, share my blisters and laugh at my discomfitures - you know you’ll enjoy it!

“Makes me laugh out loud.”


The Shropshire Cakes & Ale Trail

The Shropshire Cakes and Ale Trail is a 100-mile journey through the glorious countryside of southern Shropshire. It takes you from Bridgnorth down the River Severn and across country to Cleobury Mortimer, then over Titterstone Clee to Ludlow and on via Bury Ditches hillfort to the Saxon town of Clun. A trip along Offa’s Dyke then follows to take you into Bishop’s Castle and then over Stiperstones and the Long Mynd to Church Stretton. Over Wenlock Edge you go into Much Wenlock and then a return to Bridgnorth.

Join me on a journey through geography and history and meet the first Englishman to learn Chinese, the poet-postman of Cleobury Mortimer, the Kremlinologists of Clee Hill, the rare chickens of Wernlas, “Old Moore” and many, many others. And find out about some of Shropshire’s finest pubs and cafes.

A rib-tickling and entertaining journey is guaranteed and you’ll never have to leave your seat!

“Downright excellent entertainment”

The Worcestershire Cakes & Ale Trail

The Worcestershire Cakes and Ale Trail is a 100-mile journey through the splendid countryside of Worcestershire. Beginning in the spa town of Great Malvern, it takes you over the Malverns via Knightwick, Martley and the Teme Valley to Tenbury Wells, before returning south to Georgian Bewdley. Crossing the River Severn the journey leads you to the ancient salt town of Droitwich Spa before heading south to the plum town of Pershore and the delights of Bredon Hill. Finally it's across country to Upton-upon-Severn and then the circle is completed via the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Beacons back to Great Malvern.

Join me on a tour of geography and history and meet some dodgy vicars, a parson with a folly, the founder of anaesthesia, and an unusual Victoria Cross holder, travel through Elgar’s and the Led Zeppelin drummer’s haunts, discover the secrets in some ancient churches, and find out about some of Worcestershire’s finest pubs and cafes.

Another highly entertaining and amusing journey is guaranteed and you’ll never have to leave your seat!

"A splendid and fascinating talk."

The Warwickshire Cakes and Ale Trail

The Warwickshire Cakes and Ale Trail is a 100 mile ramble through the middle of England in Shakespeare’s Warwickshire. Beginning in the Bard’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon the route journeys along the Avon and Arrow Rivers to the Roman town of Alcester, then north to Studley and cross-country via Ullenhall to the mile-long street of history that is Henley-in-Arden. The route leads next to Kenilworth, where Robert Dudley's Castle awaits, and then south

via Mercian Offchurch to the many-pubbed village of Harbury before climbing over the Burton Dassett hills and circling the perimeter of the Battle of Edgehill to come into Kineton. A further southern jaunt takes walkers down the Vale of Tysoe to the lovely Cotswold town of Shipston-on-Stour, then it's back via Ilmington and Long Marston to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Join me on another tour of geography and history and meet some follies (Shakespearian and otherwise), an unusual American billionaire, a pie-maker, a 100 million year old dinosaur, a black slave girl and a red horse, discover the secrets in some ancient churches, and find out about some of Warwickshire’s finest pubs and cafes.

Another entertaining and informative journey is guaranteed and you’ll never have to leave your seat!

"Shall there be no more cakes and ale?" (Sir Toby Belch)

NEW WRITING PLANS

TRAVEL WRITING

The Warwickshire Cakes & Ale Trail was successfully launched at the Alcester Food Festival in May when Canon David Capron together with the Court Leet Ale Taster led proceedings. A lot of interest was shown and lot of books were sold. I plan to offer talks on this book, initially to groups in the Warwickshire area.

I have now done all preliminary work on the next (and probably last) in this series The Staffordshire Cakes and Ale Trail. The route is from Burton-on-Trent (appropriately home of the National Brewery Centre) via the canal to Dr Johnson's Lichfield, over Cannock Chase to the ancient settlement of Penkridge, through agricultural land to Eccleshall. Then it's northwards past Wedgwood's Barlaston to Stone, and on up to Cheadle in the Staffordshre Moorlands, before returning south past Alton Towers to reach Uttoxeter and past the site of the Faulds Explosion and Turbury Castle back to Burton. John Rowe and I walked the whole route between 11th and 17th May 2011. I expect the book to come out some time in the summer of 2012.

FICTION WRITING

Known Unto God has been published under the Pierrepoint Press imprint and was successfully launched in Crete in time for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete in May 2011. It tells the story of Meredith Wilson who in 1940 comes to rescue two brothers, Bert and Bill Ennis, in war-ravaged Birmingham and falls in love. In May 1941, Bill Ennis led by a young Cretan boy, Nikos Themistocles, escapes from the German advance after the Battle of Crete to the south coast of the island but dies before he can be rescued. In 2006, twenty years after her husband Bert’s death, the adult Nikos Themistocles takes Meredith Ennis to visit the site of Bill’s death and her son Tom discovers a terrible family secret.

My new Tallyforth mystery, working title Lavington's Hole, set in and around Bridgnorth and beginning with the discovery of the body of a young girl, daughter of the Governor of Bridgnorth Castle at the time of the Civil War, and a cache of letters written by a young Parliamentarian soldier to her, is undergoing revision after some really helpful reader comment from two friends in Bridgnorth. I haven't got on as fast with this as I hoped so I guesss it's going to be 2012 at the earliest before this sees the light of day.

Brown Baby - my tale of a black G.I. sent to Britain prior to D-Day who falls in love with a Herefordshire girl and the result of that love affair - is still currently doing the rounds of publishers and literary agents.

I have made minimal progress with a new novel but, as it's at a very early stage and I keep changing the original plan, I won't say anything more about this just yet.

OTHER WRITING

I have another new venture definitely going ahead with a new publishing house called Bankhouse Books. The book is entitled Remarkable Stories from Shropshire Churches and it concerns 40 people who have links of one sort or another with different churches in the county. There's a boy who sailed on The Mayflower and was thus one of the founding fathers of America, there's the woman who started the Save the Children Fund, there's the first man to swim the English Channel, there's the model for Shakespeare's Yorick, there's a 13th century Machiavelli, there's the man who first dreamed of the modern Olympics and many more. I have no idea when this is due to appear.